CEDAR SPRINGS — The Cedar Springs Public Schools will save about $190,000 a year after voting to approve a competitive contract for its custodial services, according to the Rockford Advance.

The district is facing a $1.6 million deficit for the upcoming fiscal year, the Advance reported.

According to the Mackinac Center’s 2006 school privatization survey, the district already was contracting to clean its middle school.

The district’s custodians make between $10.94 and $18.13 per hour, according to information obtained by the Cedar Springs Post. Less than half of the district’s 24 custodians live in the community and two-thirds have been employed by the district for seven years or less, the Post reported.

“The board is in a very difficult position,” Superintendent Andrew Booth told the Advance. “We’ve got to cut something. Do we increase class sizes and cut teachers? The priority has to be the kids at this point.”